Kessler – Spring 2008

The exam will be a mix of definition and essay. Remember that “definition” and “example” are not synonymous. An appropriate example lends support to, but does not replace, a good definition.

Materials Covered: Worlds Apart, chapters 1, 2, 3, & 4, documentary “People Like Us,” and all lecture/discussion in class.

For essay questions:

q Be able to trace the historical debate on inequality from 400 BCE to the early 20^th century. Explain the assumptions of the conservative thesis and the radical antithesis. Be prepared to discuss the debate as it manifested first as religion-based, then political-based, and finally economic-based. Be able to identify the major thinkers and proponents of each side of the debate and the principal assumptions of their arguments. Be familiar with the positions of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim on inequality. Be able to explain the contemporary arguments of the conflict and functional sociological approaches to the debate on inequality.

q Be prepared to discuss why some countries are rich and some are poor from both the modernization and dependency perspectives. Be able to identify and discuss features of the colonial era that set the stage for global inequality.

q How did inequality emerge in society over time? Be able to identify and describe the dominant societal forms throughout human history, as well as the relationship between technology, social organization, and inequality in each of these society types.

q Be able to define “class” and its principal determinant/s according to Marx. How does Weber’s notion of class differ from that of Marx? How have contemporary sociologists “updated” Marx’s model of class? In what ways is Marx’s definition of class problematic when applied to contemporary society? In what ways does Marx’s definition still hold true? Be able to identify and discuss the objective dimensions of class (wealth, income, occupation, education) as outlined by Sernau. Be able to discuss how they interact with one another to determine socioeconomic status. How has the U.S. occupational structure changed over the past 200 years, how has the distribution of work worldwide changed over the past 25 years, and how have these changes affected national trends in inequality?

Be able to define the following terms/concepts:

Ø White Collar jobs

Ø Blue Collar jobs

Ø Pink Collar jobs

Ø The Capitalist Class

Ø The Working Poor

Ø The Underclass

Ø Bourgeoisie

Ø Proletariat

Ø Class Consciousness

Ø Weber’s dimensions of power

Ø Erik Olin Wright’s class divisions

Ø Deindustrialization

Ø New International Division of Labor

Ø Negative Wealth

Ø Reference groups

Ø Wealth

Ø Income